Ted Jessup, VP, KACD

“Get your hands dirty as early in life as you can. Help raise a garden, get involved in your FFA Chapter, get a summer job helping a local farmer or farmer's market, and get to know your local Conservation District.”

Ted Jessup is the Vice President of the Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts and has held the post for the past two years. Ted grew up around all sorts of agriculture, from tobacco to livestock to harvesting hay; Ted experienced a bit of everything. As he got older, he began to understand the gift he’d been given with a life in agriculture.

Ted went on to study Geology at the University of Louisville. He’s served on the KACD board of directors for the past six years for Area 2 while serving as Treasurer for four years. Ted also serves as the Alternate Director to the NACD Board of Directors. Usually, Ted’s days as the VP consist of supporting the KACD President, participating in planning sessions with their Executive Team and our Executive Director, and working toward accomplishing the goals set for the Board of Directors at their annual conference every year. That's where the organization gets its marching orders. Ted’s favorite part? Getting to know supervisors across the state who've given years of their lives to their local Conservation Districts and communities.

“The conservation/stewardship ethic is strong in this group of folks, and I'm proud to serve with them.”

Ted attended a very small county school in his youth and therefore did not have the ability to join FFA or a similar agriculture organization growing up, though he highly recommends that young people looking to start a career in agriculture do so if they can!